Of All The Fast Food Joints In All The World...

[endlessrarities]

One thing that struck me about me about Pompeii - and Herculaneum - was the astounding number of fast food joints that littered the place.  It was evidently the done thing for the Roman citizens of 1st century Pompeii to eat out for lunch.  This wasn't just a matter of sitting down in a swanky restaurant:  instead, parties of friends and associates would hire a room, then have their food served to them by the staff in a place of luxury and comparative privacy.

The popularity of this pastime was evidenced by the presence of a fast food joint, almost literally round every corner.  They're distinctive things:  they comprise a row of huge pots set in concrete, with just the rims visible at the level of the counter:-

When you're facing such stiff competition, it's obvious that you have to work hard to make your establishment stand out from the crowd.  And the Roman equivalent of the easy-clean formica worktop is used to present some stunning eye-catching mosaics.  Some are patterned, while others are just random arrangements of thin polished marbles and porphyries.  The results are stunning:-
 

And a close-up of the 'easy-clean worktop':

Now I couldn't help wondering what they served in these fast food joints.  The pots are huge, and unglazed, which means they must be porous.  My knowledge of Roman food is not good:  I know Roman cuisine involved stuffed dormice and lots of fish oil, but I'd guess that whatever they're serving from these particular jars must be fairly dry.  Otherwise, how do you clean the things?  

Residue analysis of the jars would be rather intriguing.  That is if volcanic ash allows the preservation of organic residues in unglazed ceramic.

An intriguing thought.... 

Comments

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

A great suggestion, and one that could be tested! The sand would have survived archaeologically, but the water most certainly would not. BUT... If the organic contents are not in direct contact with the outer pot itself, they won't soak into the pottery so an examination for residue might just prove useful, if only for a negative. There's no sign of charring or excessive heat on the stone or the concrete or the ceramic, so presumably everything got infilled with ash prior to the onset of the final searing pyroclastic flow...